Power supply with enhanced phase current sharing utilizing active droop control

ABSTRACT

A system, power supplies, controller and method for enhanced phase current sharing are disclosed. For example, a power supply for enhanced phase current sharing is disclosed, which includes a plurality of power modules, a communication bus coupled to an input of each power module of the plurality power modules, and an output voltage node coupled to a first side of an inductor of each power module of the plurality of power modules, wherein each power module of the plurality of power modules includes a digital controller coupled to the input of the power module, and an RC circuit enabled to generate a feedback signal, coupled to a second side of the inductor and the output voltage node. In some implementations, the power supply is at least part of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) or at least part of a power supply formed on a semiconductor IC, wafer, chip or die.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/466,846 filed Aug. 22, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,748,846. Thisapplication also claims to the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/896,636 filed on Oct. 28, 2013, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Understanding that the drawings depict only exemplary embodiments andare not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, the exemplaryembodiments will be described with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a power supply, which can beutilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a voltage versus current diagram, which illustrates an idealsituation in which the load lines are identical for a plurality of powermodules.

FIG. 3 is a voltage versus current diagram, which illustrates apractical situation in which the slopes of the load lines for one ormore slave modules are not equal to the slope of the load line for themaster module involved.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method of operation for apower supply with enhanced phase current sharing, in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary control diagram reflected in the continuoustime domain for a voltage converter utilizing voltage mode control in apower supply with enhanced phase current sharing, in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing only digital droop control in ahigh voltage loop bandwidth.

FIG. 7 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing only analog droop control in ahigh voltage loop bandwidth.

FIG. 8 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing both analog droop control anddigital droop control in a high voltage loop bandwidth, in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary system, which can beutilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of specific illustrative embodiments. However, it is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical,mechanical, and electrical changes may be made. Furthermore, the methodpresented in the drawing figures and the specification is not to beconstrued as limiting the order in which the individual acts may beperformed. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to beconstrued in a limiting sense. Wherever possible, the same or likereference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the sameor like structural components or parts.

Droop compensation control can be utilized to increase the DC outputimpedance of a voltage converter (e.g., in a switched mode power supply)and lower its output voltage as its load current is increased. Forexample, droop compensation control can be utilized in DC-to-DC voltageconverters such as, for example, multiphase pulse width modulated (PWM)controllers and voltage regulators operating in parallel with phasecurrent sharing to balance the output current phases being shared.Active droop control is droop compensation control that senses thecurrent through the output inductor of a voltage converter and utilizesthe sensed current information to adjust the output voltage of theconverter and maintain the amount of droop required.

Embodiments described herein provide power supplies with enhanced phasecurrent sharing. In some embodiments, a power supply with enhanced phasecurrent sharing can include a plurality of DC-to-DC voltage convertersand/or voltage regulators operating in parallel. As such, for example, apower supply with enhanced phase current sharing can be formed on asemiconductor structure, such as a semiconductor integrated circuit(IC), wafer, chip or die. In one exemplary embodiment, active droopcontrol is provided in a multiphase power supply to automaticallycompensate for droop mismatches that can occur between the multiplephases. Also, digital calibration control is provided in the multiphasepower supply to enhance the balancing of the multiple output phasecurrents involved.

More precisely, embodiments described herein provide a power supply withenhanced phase current sharing. For example, in one embodiment, enhancedphase current sharing in a multiple phase power supply is accomplishedby adding a respective analog feedback signal to each digital controlloop being utilized to control a phase. Specifically, the power supplyincludes a plurality of power modules. Each power module of theplurality of power modules includes a digital controller, and eachdigital controller of the plurality of digital controllers is coupled toa communication bus for transferring current and voltage data between itand the other digital controllers. The output of each power module iscoupled to a common output node, and the combination of the plurality ofpower modules thereby forms a multiphase power supply with output phasecurrent sharing and active droop control. For example, in oneembodiment, each power module of the plurality of power modules can be adigitally-controlled voltage converter, such as a digital, voltagemode-controlled PWM buck converter.

Each power module of the plurality of power modules includes an RCcircuit coupled across an output inductor that generates the outputphase current for that module. One side of the RC circuit is coupled tothe phase node of the power module, and the other side of the RC circuitis coupled to a common output voltage node of the power supply at theload side. Thus, the resistance of the printed circuit board (PCB)utilized to couple the power module to the output of the power supply isincluded by the RC circuit at the load side. The RC circuit is alsocoupled to a positive voltage sense input terminal of the digitalcontroller involved. Consequently, the RC circuit is utilized to senseand thereby obtain analog output voltage droop information for the powermodule involved. The digital controller communicates with the otherdigital controllers in the power supply to utilize the sensed analogoutput voltage droop information of each power module and automaticallycompensate for any droop mismatches that occur due to the differentlayouts and resistances for the PCBs involved. Also, the digitalcontrollers communicate with each other and thereby automaticallycompensate for any mismatches of the voltage command DC offsets thatoccur. Specifically, the digital controllers communicate with each otherand automatically move the load lines of their respective power modulesuntil the load lines are aligned or overlap, which significantlyincreases the accuracy of the active droop compensation and theprecision of the output phase current balancing in comparison withconventional power supplies.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, a power supply withenhanced phase current sharing is provided with active droop control,which utilizes a passive circuit to sense analog output voltage droopinformation and utilize that information to enhance the accuracy of thephase current sharing in response to transients in the load. Also, thepower supply with enhanced phase current sharing is provided withdigital calibration control to balance the output phase currents beingshared, by compensating for the different DC resistances of the outputinductors and PCB traces for the power modules involved. The digitalcalibration control automatically trims the reference voltage of eachpower module to correct for load line offset mismatches, and alsoprovides the droop control values needed by the power modules tocompensate for the various DC resistances of the output inductors andPCB impedances involved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a power supply 100, which can beutilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, in one embodiment, power supply 100 can beutilized to implement enhanced phase current sharing for a plurality ofpoint-of-load (POL) power modules functioning as voltage converters. Insome embodiments, power supply 100 can be utilized to implement amultiphase power supply with a plurality of PWM buck converters. Inother embodiments, power supply 100 can be utilized to implement one ormore PWM controller integrated circuits (ICs) or voltage regulator ICmodules. In still other embodiments, power supply 100 can be utilized toimplement a plurality of voltage mode-controlled DC-to DC voltageconverters with enhanced phase current sharing. In general, power supply100 can be utilized to implement a power supply with enhanced phasecurrent sharing in a semiconductor structure, such as, for example, asemiconductor IC, wafer, chip or die. In some embodiments, power supply100 can be utilized to implement all or part of an integrated powermanagement IC (PMIC).

Referring to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, power supply 100includes a plurality of power modules 102 a-102 n. The first powermodule 102 a and the second power module 102 b through the nth powermodule 102 n are coupled to a communication bus 104. In some exampleembodiments, one of the power modules 102 a-102 n can operate as a“master” device on the communication bus 104, and the remaining powermodules 102 a-102 n can operate as “slave” devices. For example, such a“master” device can be any power module 102 a-102 n that initiatescommunications with the other (“slave”) power modules, and a “slave”device can be any power module 102 a-102 n that responds to acommunication from a “master” device. In some embodiments, thecommunication bus 104 can be implemented utilizing a computer busoperating in accordance with the I2C communication protocol or the SMBuscommunication protocol. In other embodiments, the communication bus 104can be implemented utilizing a suitable digital communication line thatis capable of communicating digital data between the power modules 102a-102 n and thereby facilitating the processing of algorithmsimplemented by software/firmware residing on the power modules involved.For example, a digital processor (e.g., including a microcontroller,microprocessor, and the like) can be coupled to the communication bus104 to implement digital communications between the power modules 102a-102 n in a hierarchical (e.g., master/slave) operation. As such, inone embodiment, the communication bus 104 is utilized to transfercurrent and voltage data from the “master” power module to the “slave”power modules involved.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, each power module 102 a-102n includes a respective digital controller 106 a-106 n. For example,power module 102 a includes a digital controller 106 a, power module 102b includes a digital controller 106 b, and so on. In one embodiment, thedigital controller 106 a can be a suitable microcontroller ormicroprocessor that implements program code (e.g., firmware) tocommunicate data to and from one or more of the other power modules 102b-102 n, and also output control data to switch a pair of powertransistors 108 a, 110 a. For example, in one embodiment, power module102 a can be utilized to implement a power module as a voltage-modecontrolled buck converter. In another embodiment, the power module canbe implemented as a boost converter. Returning to the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1, power transistor 108 a can be a high-sidefield-effect transistor (FET) in the power module 102 a, and powertransistor 110 a can be a low-side FET. Digital controller 106 aprovides a first switch control signal at a first output (UGATE), whichis coupled to the control terminal of power (switch) transistor 108 a.Digital controller also provides a second switch control signal at asecond output (LGATE), which is coupled to the control terminal of power(switch) transistor 110 a. Thus, digital controller 106 a controls theswitching of the power transistors 108 a, 110 a to produce a square wavesignal (phase a) at the node 112 a between the power transistors 108 a,110 a. The square wave signal (phase a) at node 112 a can be apulse-width modulation (PWM) signal. Thus, in the exemplary embodimentshown, digital controller 106 a can be utilized to implement a PWMvoltage converter (e.g., buck converter).

The node 112 a (phase a) is coupled to one end of an inductor L1 a andresistor R1 a. The second end of the resistor R1 a is coupled to one endof a capacitor C1 a, one end of a second resistor R2 a, and an input(VSEN+) 114 a of the digital controller 106 a. The second end of thesecond resistor R2 a is coupled to the second end of the capacitor C1 aand an output node 116 a. The second end of the inductor L1 a is coupledto a current sensor (ISEN) 118 a, which is coupled to a second input(ISEN) 120 a of the digital controller 106 a. The second end of inductorL1 a is further coupled to one side of a resistor Rpcb-a (e.g.,indicating the resistance of the copper PCB trace lines involved) andalso to one side of a capacitor C2 a (e.g., indicating a capacitance ofthe PCB trace lines involved). The second side of resistor Rpcb-a iscoupled to the output node 116 a. The output node 116 a is coupled toone side of an output capacitor 122 (COUT) and load 124. The secondsides of output capacitor 122 and output resistor 124 are coupled tocircuit ground. Thus, the voltage at the output node 116 a is developedacross the output capacitor 122 and load 124 to produce the outputvoltage signal, V_(O), of power supply 100. Notably, in the exemplaryembodiment shown, the configurations of the plurality of power modules102 a-102 n are substantially the same, and the power modules 102 a-102n function to operate in substantially the same manner. Consequently,the plurality of power modules 102 a-102 n generate a single, outputvoltage signal, V_(O), on the shared output node 116 a-116 n and acrossthe output resistor 124 to circuit ground. As such, the power modules102 a-102 n share their respective phase currents (e.g., sensed by thecurrent sensors 118 a-118 n), which are coupled to the output node 116a-116 n, to develop the output voltage signal, V_(O).

Essentially, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention, power supply 100 includes a passive network of circuitcomponents to provide active droop output current sharing. Power supply100 also includes digital processing to calibrate and balance the sharedoutput phase currents in order to compensate for the different DCresistance values (e.g., indicated as DCR1 a-DCR1 n) of the inductors L1a-L1 n the power modules 102 a-102 n. The digital processing is alsoutilized to compensate for the different resistance values (e.g.,indicated as Rpcb-a through Rpcb-n) of the PCB traces (e.g., coppertraces) for each phase. In one exemplary embodiment, the digitalprocessing and calibration is provided by one or more algorithmsimplemented in firmware utilizing a suitable microcontroller ormicroprocessor in each digital controller 106 a-106 n. Also, in oneexemplary embodiment, the active droop output current sharing isprovided with a respective resistance-capacitance (RC) network coupledto the output node 116 a-116 n on one side, and the switch side of eachinductor L1 a-L1 n on the other side. For example, in the embodimentshown in FIG. 1, an RC network for active droop output current sharingis implemented utilizing the resistors R1 a-R1 n, R2 a-R2 n, and thecapacitors C1 a-C1 n.

Referring to the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, it is usefulat this point to utilize an iterative, sequential series operator, K, todescribe the digital processing operations described hereinafter toimplement active droop compensation and digital calibration to balanceand thereby enhance the output phase current sharing for the pluralityof power modules 102 a-102 n. As such, for each power module #K, an RCnetwork (R_(1-K), R_(2-K) and C_(1-K)) is connected across therespective phase node and positive rail of the output voltage terminalat the load side. The voltage at the junction point between theresistors R_(1-K), R_(2-K) is coupled to the sensed voltage input(VSEN+) of the digital controller in each power module 102 a-102 n.Notably, the sensed voltage input (VSEN+) includes and thus accounts forthe resistance of the PCB trace lines involved. The transfer function inthe continuous time domain for the sensed voltage (VSEN+) for each ofthe “slave” power modules can be expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{{V_{{SEN} - K}(s)} = {{V_{o}(s)} + {{I_{K}(s)}\frac{1 + \frac{L_{1 - K}s}{{DCR}_{1 - K} + R_{{pcb} - K}}}{1 + {\frac{R_{1 - K}R_{2 - K}}{R_{1 - K} + R_{2 - K}}C_{1 - K}s}}\left( {{DCR}_{1 - K} + R_{{pcb} - K}} \right)\frac{R_{2 - K}}{R_{1 - K} + R_{2 - K}}}}}\mspace{20mu}{{{{where}\mspace{14mu} K} = 1},2,\ldots\mspace{14mu},N}} & (1)\end{matrix}$The DC resistance utilized to establish the voltage droop for a powermodule (e.g., analog droop) can derived from Equation (1) and expressedas follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{R_{{droop}_{a{(K)}}} = {\left( {{DCR}_{1 - K} + R_{{pcb} - K}} \right)\frac{R_{2 - K}}{R_{1 - K} + R_{2 - K}}}}{{{{where}\mspace{14mu} K} = 1},2,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N.}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

Note that, in an ideal or theoretical case, if a plurality of identicalpower modules were to be utilized to generate a plurality of identicaloutput phase currents, the layouts of the PCBs utilized were identical(symmetrical PCB layout), and the RC network utilized had identicalresistances and capacitances, then Equation (2) would provide anidentical droop resistance value for all of the phases. However, theresistances of the different PCB trace lines are relatively smallcompared to the DC resistances of the inductors utilized in the powermodules involved. Consequently, the parameter Rpcb in the analog droopEquation (2) is not dominant and can be considered insignificantcompared to the parameter DCR (the DC resistance needed to establish thevoltage droop for a power module) in Equation (2).

In operation, the firmware in each “slave” digital controller 102 a-102n processes the algorithm for Equation (1) and derives the respectivesensed voltage, VSEN+. The firmware in each “slave” digital controller102 a-102 n processes the algorithm of Equation (2) utilizing therespective RC network parameters and sensed voltage, (VSEN+), andderives the DC resistance value needed to provide the required outputvoltage droop compensation value for the phase involved. Each digitalcontroller 106 a-106 n outputs suitable PWM control signals (UGATE,LGATE) to drive the respective switching transistors (108 a-108 n, 110a-110 n), and thus generate the respective phase currents 112 a-112 n todevelop the output voltage with active droop compensation at the outputnodes 116 a-116 n.

Notably, in addition to the sensed input voltage, VSEN+, the sensedcurrent (ISEN), which is coupled to the input 120 a-120 n of therespective digital controller 106 a-106 n, can also be utilized togenerate the output voltage droop resistance value. For example, thefirmware in a digital controller 106 a-106 n can utilize a suitablealgorithm to derive the transfer function of the sensed current (ISEN),and process Equation (2) with the respective Rpcb and DCR values togenerate the output voltage droop required.

FIG. 2 is a voltage versus current diagram 200, which illustrates anideal or theoretical case in which the respective load lines (andassociated droop resistance values) for all of the power modules 102a-102 n are identical. For example, the resistance value 202 (R_(M)),indicates the load line slope for a master module involved. Also, theresistance value 204 (R_(S)) indicates the load line slope for a slavemodule involved. Notably, the slopes of the load lines 202, 204 areidentical in this theoretical case. However, in an actual operatingenvironment, the command voltage, V_(S), for each module 102 a-102 nwill have a slightly different offset, which causes an imbalance betweenthe output phase currents of the modules 102 a-102 n (even if the slopesof their load lines were to be identical). However, in one exemplaryembodiment, the firmware in each slave module is utilized to “trim” itsrespective command voltage, V_(S), in order to move and thereby alignits respective load line with the load line of the master moduleinvolved. This trimming of the command voltage, V_(S), in order to alignthe load line of each slave module with the load line of the masterpower module, significantly increases the accuracy of the process forbalancing the output phase currents of the power modules involved.

For example, referring to FIG. 2, the droop resistance, R_(M), 202 of amaster module can be expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{M} = \frac{V_{0{(K)}} - V_{0{({K - 1})}}}{I_{M{({K - 1})}} - I_{M{(K)}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$Also, for example, the droop resistance, R_(S(K)), 204 of a slave modulecan be expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{S{(K)}} = \frac{\left\lbrack {V_{0{(K)}} - V_{0{({K - 1})}}} \right\rbrack - \left\lbrack {V_{S{(K)}} - V_{S{({K - 1})}}} \right\rbrack}{I_{S{({K - 1})}} - I_{S{(K)}}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$Thus, the control voltage, V_(S(K)), 206 that can be utilized by a slavemodule to move its load line to the load line of the master module canbe derived from Equations (3) and (4), and expressed as follows:V _(S(K)) =V _(S(K-1)) +K _(S)[I _(M(K)) −I _(S(K))]  (5)

For example, referring to FIG. 2 and Equation (5), if the output currentof the master module is higher than the detected output current of theslave module, the slave module can increase, or trim up, its outputvoltage 206, or V_(S(K)). Consequently, the master module's inductorcurrent will be decreased while the inductor current of the slave moduleinvolved will be increased, until their load lines are aligned. On theother hand, also referring to FIG. 2 and Equation (5), if the detectedload current of a slave module is higher than the output current of themaster module involved, then the slave module can decrease, or trimdown, its output voltage 206, or V_(S(K)). Consequently, the mastermodule's inductor current will be increased while the inductor currentof the slave module will be decreased, until their load lines arealigned. Notably, the optimal or most accurate output phase currentsharing or balancing is achieved when each of the slave modules' loadlines is aligned with the load line of the master module involved. Insum, each digital controller 106 a-106 n is enabled to automaticallytrim its own command voltage, V_(S), and thereby enhance the overallaccuracy of the output phase current balancing of the power supply 100.

FIG. 3 is a voltage versus current diagram 300, which illustrates apractical situation in which the slopes of the respective load lines forone or more slave modules 102 a-102 n are not equal to the slope of theload line for the master module involved. For example, referring to FIG.3, the resistance value 302 (R_(M)), indicates the load line for themaster module, the resistance value 304 (R_(S(K))) indicates the loadline for the “Kth” slave module involved, and the resistance value 306(R_(S(K-1))) indicates the load line for the K−1st slave moduleinvolved. Notably, the droop resistance 302 (R_(M)) of a master moduleis described by Equation (3) above. However, in this case, the droopresistance 304 of the Kth slave module can be modified by adding orsubtracting a fixed resistance value 310 (ΔR_(S)) at each step, in orderto move the load line (R_(S(K))) of the respective slave moduleincrementally in the correct direction to align it with the load line302 (R_(M)) of the master module involved. In this case, the digitaldroop resistance value for a slave module can be expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{R_{S{(K)}} = \frac{\left\lbrack {V_{0{(K)}} - V_{0{({K - 1})}}} \right\rbrack - {I_{S{({K - 1})}}\Delta\; R_{S}}}{I_{S{({K - 1})}} - I_{S{(K)}}}}{{{{where}\mspace{14mu} K} = 1},2,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N.}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$Notably, Equation (6) can be utilized by the firmware in each digitalcontroller 106 a-106 n to automatically calculate the digital droopresistance, R_(S), needed to align its load line to the load line of themaster module, by inputting voltage and current data communicatedbetween the master module and slave modules to Equation (6). As such,this digital calibration of the slave modules further enhances theaccuracy of the output phase current balancing for the power supply 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method of operation 400 fora power supply with enhanced phase current sharing, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention. For example, theexemplary method 400 can be utilized by each digital controller 106a-106 n shown in FIG. 1 to provide enhanced phase current sharing.Referring to FIG. 4, the method 400 begins (402) by determining if thepower supply 100 is in a startup mode of operation or steady state modeof operation. If the power supply is in a startup mode of operation, theflow proceeds (404) to determine if the load line of the Kth slavemodule (e.g., characterized by the droop resistance of that module) isequal to the load line of the master module involved. If the slope ofthe load line of the Kth slave module is equal to the slope of the loadline of the master module involved, the flow proceeds (406) to enablethe respective digital controller to utilize its resident firmware toprocess Equation (5) above and thereby automatically trim its respectivecommand voltage, V_(S), to compensate for any voltage offset thatoccurs. However, if (406) the load line of the Kth slave module is notequal to the load line of the master module involved, the flow proceeds(408) to enable the Kth digital controller to utilize Equation (6) andadd or subtract a suitable fixed resistance (ΔRs) and therebyautomatically trim its droop resistance to compensate for load lineimbalances.

Returning to the start (402), if the power supply 100 is in the steadystate mode of operation, the flow proceeds (410) to enable the digitalcontroller of the master module to process Equation (3) and calculatethe droop resistance, R_(M), or slope of the load line of the mastermodule involved. For example, the process of calculating the slope ofthe load line of the master module can be accomplished by changing themaster module's output current (e.g., by changing the load), or detuningone of the slave modules involved. The flow then proceeds (412) todetermine if during the previous processing step, the slopes of themaster module and the respective slave module were substantiallyidentical and automatic trimming of the command voltage, V_(S), wasbeing performed to compensate for voltage offsets. On the other hand,the flow at (412) determines if during the previous processing step, theslopes of the master module and the respective slave module were notsubstantially identical, and automatic calibration of the droopresistance, R_(S), of the slave module was being performed to align theload line of the slave module with the load line of the master module.If the command voltage, V_(S), was being trimmed, the flow proceeds(414) to enable the digital controller of the slave module to utilizeEquation (4) to align the load line of the slave module to the load lineof the master module involved. The flow then proceeds to determine ifthe load line of the Kth slave module is equal to the load line of themaster module involved (404), as described above. However, if (412)during the last processing step, the slopes of the master module and therespective slave module were not substantially equal, the flow proceeds(416) to enable the digital controller of the slave module to utilizeEquation (6) to align the load line of the slave module with the loadline of the master module. The flow then proceeds to determine if theload line of the Kth slave module (e.g., characterized by the droopresistance of that module) is equal to the load line of the mastermodule involved (404), as described above.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary control diagram 500 reflected in thecontinuous time domain (e.g., transfer function) for a voltage converterutilizing voltage mode control in a power supply with enhanced phasecurrent sharing, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent invention. For example, in one embodiment, the voltage convertercan be a DC-to-DC voltage converter such as, for example, a PWM buckconverter. Referring to FIG. 5, the closed loop output impedance(observed at the output) for a slave module (e.g., a “slave” powermodule 102 a-102 n in FIG. 1) can be expressed as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{Z_{cl}(s)} = {\frac{- {v_{0}(s)}}{l_{0}(s)} = {{\left\lbrack {{R_{droop\_ d}{F(s)}} + R_{droop\_ a}} \right\rbrack\frac{T(s)}{1 + {T(s)}}} + {{Z_{0\; 1}(s)}\frac{1}{1 + {T(s)}}}}}} & (7)\end{matrix}$The parameter Rdroop_a 502 represents the analog portion of the activedroop control that can be realized utilizing an RC network such as theRC circuit including R1 a-R1 n, R2 aR2 n, C1 a-C1 n shown in FIG. 1. Forexample, the analog droop portion 502 of the output impedance can bedescribed by the V_(S) trimming equation in block 406 shown in FIG. 4.Notably, the time constant mismatches of the RC networks of thedifferent power modules are negligible and not included in Equation (7).Also, note that the active droop control utilized is effective atfrequencies lower than the voltage loop bandwidth. Consequently, asshown in FIG. 5, the inductor current, iL(s), can be consideredapproximately equal to the load current, iO(s), for the typicalfrequency range involved. The parameter Rdroop_d 504 represents thedigital droop resistance that can trimmed by the automatic calibrationportion of the active droop control being utilized. For example, thedigital droop portion 504 of the active droop control can be describedby the R_(S) trimming equations shown in block 408 in FIG. 4. Notably,the analog droop portion 502 is the dominant parameter compared with thedigital droop portion 504, and as such, the digital droop portion 504can be utilized primarily for fine tuning to compensate for commandvoltage mismatches that can occur while utilizing the analog droopportion 502. Essentially, the resistance value of the digital droopportion is a gain term, which can be trimmed utilizing the automaticcalibration algorithm residing in the firmware of the digital controllerinvolved. A low pass digital filter 506 is utilized to pass the sensedcurrent signal with the high frequency component of the current signalremoved. For example, the filter 506 can be a digital, moving averagefilter with a relatively low sampling rate, which can provide a largelatency for the digital droop portion of the active droop. A voltagemode control compensator 508 is provided to minimize the error of thesignal at its input. For example, in one embodiment, the voltage modecontrol compensator 508 can be implemented utilizing aproportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller in adigitally-controlled voltage converter such as a buck converter. Theopen loop output impedance observed from the output of the voltageconverter is depicted in block 510. A control to output transferfunction Gvd(s) 512 is depicted in block 512. The parameter Vref is thereference voltage for a power module 102 a-102 n at zero load current.For example, the parameter Vref can be the reference voltage, V_(M), fora master power module, and the reference voltage, V_(S), for a slavepower module. In summary, the analog droop portion 502 is the dominantparameter in the voltage mode control implementation, and the digitaldroop portion 504 is provided to trim and thereby calibrate out commandvoltage mismatches that can occur while implementing the analog droopportion 502.

FIG. 6 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing only digital droop control in ahigh voltage loop bandwidth. In other words, an RC network is notincluded in this simulation to provide the analog droop control. In thesimulation shown, the slave module's command voltage trimming, V_(S), isactive through the power supply's digital communication bus. Referringto FIG. 6, the trace 602 indicates the inductor current for two phases(10 A/div.), the trace 604 indicates the output voltage (20 mV/div.),and the trace 606 indicates the load current (20 A/div.). Notably, FIG.6 illustrates that due to the inherent delay of the digital droop, thephase current sharing becomes unstable particularly when the voltageloop bandwidth is high.

FIG. 7 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing only analog droop control in ahigh voltage loop bandwidth. In other words, an RC network is includedin this simulation to provide the analog droop control. In thissimulation, the PCB layout is not symmetrical, and the resistances andcapacitances of the RC networks for the “n” power modules involved areindividually tuned to achieve the same droop value and thereby cancelout the PCB asymmetry. In the simulation shown, the slave module'scommand voltage trimming, V_(S), is active through the power supply'sdigital communication bus. Referring to FIG. 7, the trace 702 indicatesthe inductor current for three phases (10 A/div.), and the trace 704indicates the output voltage (20 mV/div.). Notably, this simulationdemonstrates that excellent phase current sharing can be achievedutilizing analog droop control alone, but the design complexity of thisapproach is increased due to the need to individually tune theresistances and capacitances of the RC networks involved.

FIG. 8 is a graph that depicts a simulated voltage converter withdynamic phase current sharing utilizing both analog droop control anddigital droop control in a high voltage loop bandwidth, in accordancewith one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this case,identical RC networks are utilized to generate the analog droop for eachpower module involved. Also, digital calibration is being utilized tocancel out the droop mismatches that can occur due to the asymmetry ofthe PCB layouts involved. In the simulation shown, the slave module'scommand voltage trimming, V_(S), is active through the power supply'sdigital communication bus. The resistance values and capacitance valuesof each of the RC networks involved are fixed. Referring to FIG. 8, thetrace 802 indicates the inductor current for three shared phases (10A/div.). Notably, this simulation demonstrates that excellent phasecurrent balancing can be achieved utilizing both analog droop controland digital droop control, and the design complexity of this approach issignificantly decreased (compared to the approach illustrated in FIG. 7)due to the use of the identical RC networks.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary system 900, whichcan be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. For example, in one embodiment, system 900 includesone or more electronic circuits 902, and one or more one power supplieswith enhanced phase current sharing 904. For example, one or more of thepower supplies 904 can be implemented with the power supply 100 shown inFIG. 1. The output voltage, Vout, of the one or more power supplies 904is coupled to an input terminal, Vin, of the one or more electroniccircuits 902. Consequently, the performance of the one or moreelectronic circuits 902 is significantly enhanced compared toconventional electronic circuits. For example, the one or more powersupplies 904 with enhanced current sharing can be utilized in a serversystem, telecommunication system, data storage system, datacommunication system, and the like. Also, for example, the one or morepower supplies 904 with enhanced current sharing can be utilized toprovide power for one or more ASICs, FPGAs, DSPs, and/or memory stagesin the electronic circuits 902 involved.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example 1 includes a power supply, comprising: a plurality of powermodules; a communication bus coupled to an input of each power module ofthe plurality power modules; and an output voltage node coupled to afirst side of an inductor of each power module of the plurality of powermodules, wherein each power module of the plurality of power modulesincludes a digital controller coupled to the input of the power module,and an RC circuit enabled to generate a feedback signal, coupled to asecond side of the inductor and the output voltage node.

Example 2 includes the power supply of Example 1, wherein the RC circuitis further coupled to an input of the digital controller.

Example 3 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-2, wherein theRC circuit is connected to an input of the digital controller andenabled to generate an analog feedback signal associated with voltagedroop at the output voltage node and couple the analog feedback signalto an input of the digital controller.

Example 4 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-3, wherein saideach power module of the plurality of power modules includes a pluralityof pulse width modulated (PWM) switches, and a phase node coupled to anoutput terminal of the plurality of PWM switches and the second side ofthe inductor.

Example 5 includes the power supply of any of Examples 3-4, wherein thedigital controller is enabled to receive the signal associated withvoltage droop, determine a command voltage value to compensate forcommand voltage mismatches associated with the voltage droop, and outputa control signal associated with the command voltage value.

Example 6 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-5, furthercomprising a printed circuit board (PCB) component coupled between thefirst side of the inductor and the output voltage node.

Example 7 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-6, wherein thedigital controller is enabled to generate a control signal to align aload line of a first power module with a load line of a second powermodule.

Example 8 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-7, wherein afirst power module of the plurality of power modules is a master moduleand a second power module of the plurality of power modules is a slavemodule.

Example 9 includes the power supply of any of Examples 1-8, wherein thecommunication bus comprises a communication bus enabled to operate inaccordance with an I2C communication protocol or SMBus communicationprotocol.

Example 10 includes a method of operation of a power supply, comprising:determining if the power supply is operating in a startup mode or asteady state mode; if the power supply is operating in the startup mode,determining if a slope of a load line for a first power module of thepower supply is substantially equal to a slope of a load line for asecond power module of the power supply; if the slope of the load linefor the first power module is substantially equal to the slope of theload line for the second power module, generating a control voltage toalign the load line of the second power module with the load line of thefirst power module; and if the slope of the load for the first powermodule is not substantially equal to the slope of the load line for thesecond power module, generating a droop resistance correction signal toalign the load line of the second power module with the load line of thefirst power module, wherein the droop resistance correction signal isassociated with a digital droop resistance value and an analog droopresistance value.

Example 11 includes the method of Example 10, further comprising: if thepower supply is operating in the steady state mode, determining theslope of the load line for the first power module; determining if aprevious control voltage value or a previous droop resistance value wasbeing utilized to align the load line of the second power module withthe load line of the first power module; if the previous control voltagewas being utilized to align the load line of the second power modulewith the load line of the first power module, generating a droopresistance value utilizing the previous control voltage value; and ifthe previous droop resistance value was being utilized to align the loadline of the second power module with the load line of the first powermodule, generating the droop resistance value utilizing the previousdroop resistance value.

Example 12 includes a multiphase power supply, comprising: a pluralityof power modules, wherein each power module of the plurality of powermodules includes: a digital controller, wherein an input of the digitalcontroller is coupled to a data communication line, and an output of thedigital controller is coupled to a control input of a voltage regulator;a resistive component coupled to an inductor of the voltage regulatorand a common output voltage node of the multiphase power supply; and anRC circuit coupled across the inductor and the resistive component.

Example 13 includes the multiphase power supply of Example 12, whereinthe resistive component comprises a printed circuit board or a componentwith a resistive value.

Example 14 includes the multiphase power supply of any of Examples12-13, wherein the RC circuit is further coupled to a voltage sensinginput of the digital controller.

Example 15 includes a system, comprising: an electronic circuit; and amultiple phase power supply coupled to the electronic circuit, whereinthe multiple phase power supply comprises: a plurality of power modules;a communication bus coupled to an input of each power module of theplurality power modules; and an output voltage node coupled to a firstside of an inductor of each power module of the plurality of powermodules, wherein each power module of the plurality of power modulesincludes a digital controller coupled to the input of the power module,and an RC circuit coupled to a second side of the inductor and theoutput voltage node.

Example 16 includes the system of Example 15, wherein the systemcomprises a terminal system, telecommunication system, data storagesystem, or data communication system.

Example 17 includes the system of any of Examples 15-16, wherein theelectronic circuit comprises at least one ASIC, FPGA, DSP, controller,or memory storage device.

Example 18 includes a multiple phase power supply, comprising: a firstcontroller enabled to receive a first digital signal at a first inputand a first analog signal at a second input, wherein the first digitalsignal is a first control signal and the first analog signal is a firstfeedback signal associated with voltage droop at an output node of thepower supply; a first power converter coupled to an output of the firstcontroller and enabled to generate a first phase current of the multiplephase power supply responsive to the first digital signal and the firstanalog signal; a second controller enabled to receive a second digitalsignal at a third input and a second analog signal at a fourth input,wherein the second digital signal is a second control signal and thesecond analog signal is a second feedback signal associated with thevoltage droop at the output node of the multiple phase power supply; anda second power converter coupled to an output of the second controllerand enabled to generate a second phase current of the power supplyresponsive to the second digital signal and the second analog signal.

Example 19 includes the multiple phase power supply of Example 18,wherein the first controller and the first power converter comprise afirst power module, the second controller and the second power convertercomprise a second power module, and the first power module and thesecond power module are formed on a semiconductor integrated circuit(IC), wafer, chip or die.

Example 20 includes the multiple phase power supply of any of Examples18-19, wherein the first controller and the first power convertercomprise a first power module, the second controller and the secondpower converter comprise a second power module, and the first powermodule and the second power module are formed on a power management IC(PMIC).

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose,may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. Therefore, it ismanifestly intended that the present invention be limited only by theclaims and the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power supply, comprising: a plurality of powermodules; a communication bus coupled to an input of each power module ofthe plurality power modules; an output voltage node coupled to a firstside of an inductor of each power module of the plurality of powermodules; and a digital controller coupled to the input of one of thepower modules, wherein the digital controller is configured to receive afeedback signal generated by a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit, the RCcircuit being coupled to a second side of the inductor and the outputvoltage node, and wherein the feedback signal is further generated by atleast one printed circuit board (PCB) trace resistive component disposedbetween the inductor and the output voltage node, wherein the digitalcontroller is configured to implement active control of voltage droop atthe output voltage node, the active control including an equation havinga digital portion and an analog portion that is determined by resistanceand capacitance values of components in the RC circuit.
 2. The powersupply of claim 1, wherein the feedback signal is provided to a voltagesense input of the digital controller.
 3. The power supply of claim 1,wherein the feedback signal is associated with voltage droop at theoutput voltage node and is coupled to an input of the digitalcontroller.
 4. The power supply of claim 1, wherein said each powermodule of the plurality of power modules includes a plurality of pulsewidth modulated (PWM) switches, and a phase node coupled to an outputterminal of the plurality of PWM switches and the second side of theinductor.
 5. The power supply of claim 3, wherein the digital controlleris enabled to receive the feedback signal associated with voltage droop,determine a command voltage value to compensate for command voltagemismatches associated with the voltage droop, and output a controlsignal associated with the command voltage value.
 6. The power supply ofclaim 1, wherein the digital controller is enabled to generate a controlsignal to align a load line of a first power module with a load line ofa second power module.
 7. The power supply of claim 1, wherein a firstpower module of the plurality of power modules is a master module and asecond power module of the plurality of power modules is a slave module.8. The power supply of claim 1, wherein the communication bus comprisesa communication bus enabled to operate in accordance with an I2Ccommunication protocol or SMBus communication protocol.
 9. A method ofoperation of a power supply, comprising: determining if the power supplyis operating in a startup mode or a steady state mode; if the powersupply is operating in the startup mode, determining if a slope of aload line for a first power module of the power supply is substantiallyequal to a slope of a load line for a second power module of the powersupply; if the slope of the load line for the first power module issubstantially equal to the slope of the load line for the second powermodule, generating a control voltage to align the load line of thesecond power module with the load line of the first power module; and ifthe slope of the load line for the first power module is notsubstantially equal to the slope of the load line for the second powermodule, generating a droop resistance correction signal to align theload line of the second power module with the load line of the firstpower module, wherein the droop resistance correction signal comprises adigital droop resistance value that is adjusted by a fixed incrementaldroop resistance value.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:if the power supply is operating in the steady state mode, determiningthe slope of the load line for the first power module; determining if aprevious control voltage value or a previous droop resistance value wasbeing utilized to align the load line of the second power module withthe load line of the first power module; if the previous control voltagewas being utilized to align the load line of the second power modulewith the load line of the first power module, generating the droopresistance value utilizing the previous control voltage value; and ifthe previous droop resistance value was being utilized to align the loadline of the second power module with the load line of the first powermodule, generating the droop resistance value utilizing the previousdroop resistance value.
 11. A multiphase power supply, comprising: aplurality of power modules, wherein each power module of the pluralityof power modules includes: a digital controller, wherein an input of thedigital controller is coupled to a data communication line, and anoutput of the digital controller is coupled to a control input of atleast one power transistor; a resistive component coupled to an inductorof the power module and a common output voltage node of the multiphasepower supply, wherein the resistive component comprises a printedcircuit board (PCB) trace or component with a resistive value; and aresistor-capacitor (RC) circuit coupled across the inductor and theresistive component, wherein the digital controller is configured toimplement active control of voltage droop at the common output voltagenode, the active control including an equation having a digital portionand an analog portion that is determined by resistance and capacitancevalues of components in the RC circuit.
 12. The multiphase power supplyof claim 11, wherein the RC circuit is further coupled to a voltagesensing input of the digital controller.
 13. A system, comprising: anelectronic circuit; and a multiple phase power supply coupled to theelectronic circuit, wherein the multiple phase power supply comprises: aplurality of power modules; a communication bus coupled to an input ofeach power module of the plurality power modules; an output voltage nodecoupled to a first side of an inductor of each power module of theplurality of power modules, wherein each power module of the pluralityof power modules includes a digital controller coupled to the input ofthe power module, wherein the digital controller is configured toreceive a feedback signal generated by a resistor-capacitor (RC)circuit, the RC circuit being coupled to a second side of the inductorand the output voltage node, and wherein the feedback signal is furthergenerated by at least one printed circuit board (PCB) trace resistivecomponent disposed between the inductor and the output voltage node, andwherein the digital controller is configured to implement active controlof voltage droop at the output voltage node, the active controlincluding an equation having a digital portion and an analog portionthat is determined by resistance and capacitance values of components inthe RC circuit.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the system comprisesa terminal system, telecommunication system, data storage system, ordata communication system.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein theelectronic circuit comprises at least one ASIC, FPGA, DSP, controller,or memory storage device.
 16. A controller, comprising: a voltage senseinput enabled to receive an analog feedback signal associated withvoltage droop of a power supply, wherein the analog feedback signal isgenerated by a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit and by at least oneprinted circuit board (PCB) trace resistive component; a current senseinput enabled to receive a voltage signal associated with an outputcurrent of the power supply; a control input enabled to receive adigital signal associated with the voltage droop of the power supply;and a processor enabled to generate a voltage droop compensation valuefrom the analog feedback signal, the digital signal, and the voltagesignal, wherein the processor is configured to implement active controlof the voltage droop of the power supply, the active control includingan equation having a digital portion and an analog portion that isdetermined by resistance and capacitance values of components in the RCcircuit.
 17. The controller of claim 16, further comprising: at leastone control output enabled to output a control signal associated withthe voltage droop compensation value.
 18. The controller of claim 16,wherein the controller is formed on a semiconductor integrated circuit(IC), wafer, chip or die.